Tuesday, July 20, 2010

So we're getting ready to move into a new apartment. It's actually across the street! We were looking for something bigger, but we like the location. We really lucked out with this apartment. It's $200/month more than our current apartment, but it's over 50% bigger!

As I've been moving, I've thought of some ways that I've found that have made moving a lot easier, so I thought I'd share. Granted, with only a two-bedroom apartment, it's not quite the same task as it would be if we had a whole house, but I think these tips can scale up, so hopefully I'll include something that helps you.

Boxes

Everyone needs boxes to move. This is especially essential if you're moving to a new state and everything has to be packed up before you can move. But boxes can be expensive to buy. One way to save is to get boxes from stores. In our area, I know you can have boxes saved for you from both Walmart and Bed, Bath, and Beyond, but I'm sure a lot of stores are willing to do it. I got my boxes from Walmart. To do so, I had to call the night before (before they started stocking the shelves) and ask them to reserve some. As they stocked, they put some of the good boxes in a cart. Otherwise, they crush all boxes by 6:30 a.m. This way they knew to reserve them. I also had to pick up the boxes by about 7 a.m. or they would have gotten rid of them. Totally worth it for free boxes.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

I recently was thinking about how we get vitamin D from the sun and wondering whether sunscreen blocks vitamin D from being absorbed, so I did a search on Google and found that indeed, it does block vitamin D. I also read that many have gone overboard encouraging sunscreen whenever we are out in the sun. Vitamin D is very important to our health, and so it's important to get enough in our bodies. In the winter, it's impossible to get enough from the sun if you live too far north (from what I read, anywhere that's north of Atlanta), but you can get enough in the summer.

Many believe that you get enough from supplements and milk. According to government regulations, this may be true, but not according to many health researchers who believe you need around 1,000 to 2,000 IUs a day (at least in the summer when you can get it from the sun). You only get around 100 IUs from milk and 400 IUs from a multi-vitamin.

This isn't to say that sunscreen isn't important. Everyone should wear it regardless of their skin tone because it protects against skin cancer (even if you're tan, it's needed). But we should allow ourselves to be outside without sunscreen for a short amount of time, depending on your skin tone. Those who are fair skinned only need around a few minutes midday; if you're tan, you will need around 15 to 20 minutes; extremely dark-skinned individuals may need as much as an hour or more (though studies are needed to determine how much).

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